Corrects quote in final paragraph to 'places' from 'countries'
TORONTO (TrustLaw) – The Fairtrade movement, which has opened up Western markets to hundreds of coffee and cocoa farmers in the developing world, is struggling to make an impact on a group badly in need of help: small-scale gold miners in war zones.
Small or “artisanal” miners produce 10 to 15 percent of global gold supplies while artisanal mining supports the livelihoods of an estimated 100 million people around the world, according to the International Institute for Environment and Development.
Many miners operate in war-torn areas such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali.
Gold was the first mineral to be stamped with the Fairtrade label in 2011, the result of a partnership between Fairtrade International and the Alliance for Responsible Mining, which coined the term Fairmined.
The designation aims to ensure that the “artisanal” miners, who dig and sift for gold in open pits and riverbeds, receive a standard minimum price for their gold and have access to the global market.
But meeting the Fairtrade standards is not easy for small-scale miners in war zones.
The areas where they mine are often occupied by rebel groups and are too unsafe for local armies to patrol or for aid organisations to operate, said Jennifer Horning, international programme coordinator for Solidaridad, a charity that develops partnerships between small-scale gold mines and international buyers.
To qualify as a Fairmined gold producer, a mining operation must be registered with the local government, properly manage toxic chemicals used in the recovery process, not use child labour, recognise the rights of women miners and have health and safety training available. A condition of certification is that the mine must reinvest 10 percent of each sale into community projects like schools or clinics.
Being Fairtrade certified would open up the marketplace for these small operations that have been shut out of the supply chain because they lack the money and capacity to prove their gold is conflict-free – gold that is mined and sold illicitly to bankroll war and violence in the same way that “blood diamonds” once did.
“There are artisanal miners who can’t sell their gold now in Africa because buyers are saying they can’t buy from them,” said Horning.
Two gold trade associations – the World Gold Council and the London Bullion Market Association – imposed new compliance guidelines in 2012 designed to choke conflict-gold out of the mainstream supply chain. These rules are similar to those spelled out in the Dodd-Frank Act, passed by the US Congress in 2010.
The new rules make it more difficult for artisanal mines in the Congo and adjoining countries to sell their product. A 2012 paper commissioned by the Washington-based Centre for Global Development concluded that the Dodd-Frank Act has put tens of thousands of Congolese miners – and perhaps as much as two million – out of work.
Fairmined gold was recognised by the Responsible Jewelry Council in 2012, giving its 420 members around the world who are certified artisanal miners access to the international market.
The movement has yet to certify any mines outside South America. Nine mines in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru have so far received Fairmined certification.
“You are required to be formalised, to have a primary mining license, in order to be certified,” said Dr. John Childs, an environment fellow at the London School of Economics. “The barrier to entry is still quite high.”
Horning said artisanal miners were being forced to sell to markets that ask few questions about the metals’ provenance.
“Artisanal miners are being pushed to sell to buyers through the black market from places like Dubai and China,” she said. “Artisanal miners are not participating in the conflict but they don’t have an opportunity to sell gold,” she said. “It is a definite concern.”
((Editing by Stella Dawson))
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